Junta building its party in northeast

About a week ago PPT commented on The Dictator’s efforts to guarantee the victory he desires.

We noted the destabilizing of the Puea Thai Party, jailing opponents, using the “law” against them and building pro-junta parties. We added that Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha and his junta are unabashedly using the military, the bureaucracy and taxpayer’s funds in seeking to tip the “election” even more in the junta’s favor.

Much of that spending of taxpayer funds has been associated with high-profile “mobile cabinet meetings” in areas where Puea Thai has been strong since 2001.

The next candidate pilfering and big promises circus begins today in Ubol Ratchathani and Amnat Charoen.

Every single person in Thailand knows that the critical element of this trip is to support the Palang Pracharat Party as is seeks to “turn” Puea Thai politicians and even red shirts to the junta’s party.

That hasn’t prevented a week of lies by various junta people, denying the obvious. The junta seems to think the Thai electorate is stupid but continues with this silly lying. Perhaps they deny because this poaching is technically illegal. Yet the Election Commission is a junta lapdog, so there’s no chance of any law being enforced.

[He] rejected any suggestion that the change is a move to avoid criticism. “We’re not avoiding it [meetings with politicians]. If they want or do not want to meet, so be it… It’s not about the agenda. Every time we met them because they had asked for it. But this time, I don’t know. But not that I know of.”

Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam took the lawyers’ approach to lying stating that “no meetings with local leaders were listed in the agendas…”. We doubt that political poaching would ever appear on a cabinet agenda, so he’s probably correct, as far as he goes.

Later, the junta’s spokesman Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd dismissed the politics of Palang Pracharath recruiting, saying: “Don’t look at it as a political issue. Right now, the country must move forward with the cooperation of all involved…”.

That repression is to allow the junta and its party an open field for its poaching.

In such circumstances, the junta/Palang Pracharath overtures to former Thaksinites and red shirts is likely to continue to produce results as the mantra becomes: There is no alternative to supporting the junta and The Dictator.